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Here’s Why You Should Nap at Work

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I'm Brittany bright

September 11, 2017

Why You Should Nap at Work

“While y’all are sleeping, I’m grinding.”

Blah, blah blah. We’ve heard it before. For SOME strange reason, people believe that less sleep equals success. But in actuality, it means the opposite. Every day, without fail, I feel completely drained halfway through the workday. There is no set time when it occurs, and food is not always a factor. I WANT TO NAP. At this point in life, I greatly envy my child, and everyone in pre-K and Kindergarten because they get to have nap time. Dear God, forgive me for all of the times I took nap time for granted. Unfortunately, taking a nap at work is a no-no; or so it seems. As if we millennials want another reason to be seen as lazy. However, in my college days, if I was facing a pressing deadline, or really needed to study, I would take a nap first. I always woke up feeling refreshed, and I’d crank out A (or B) quality work. My productivity soars after a refreshing nap. The question is simple, how do we get around being able to nap at work? Well, my friends, I am here to tell you why you should nap at work.

Coffee Doesn’t Count

Coffee does not count as a productivity boost. According to a 2002 Harvard University study, workers tended to burn out as the day pressed on. They were under observation during a perceptual performance which took place four times during the day. The workers’ performance became increasingly poor. However, when they were allowed to take a 30-minute nap between tests, their performance boosted immediately following. Those who took a 60-minute nap performed even better.

Where I work, one of our top weekly goals is to keep our productivity levels above 60%. Because I work at an advertising agency, we use a creative manager program that has the ability to track our productivity. Seeing how this is my first big girl job, I struggle immensely with staying productive. I can begin working on a task, and as soon as an email pops up, or someone starts talking to me, I will become distracted. Next thing I know, it’s 5 p.m., and I haven’t gotten a thing on my to-do list completed! I know why, y’all. It’s because I do not have the luxury of taking a mid-day nap. Or do I?…

Taking a nap at work looks counterproductive, yet it’s everything but. Take a look at this quote from an article recently published by the New York Times.

The Whys

“Companies are suffering from tremendous productivity problems because people are stressed out” and not recovering from the workday, said Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte. “They’re beginning to realize that this is their problem, and they can’t just say to people, ‘Here’s a work-life balance course, go teach yourself how to manage your inbox,'” Mr. Bersin said. “It’s way more complicated than that.”

“Naps had the same magnitude of benefits as full nights of sleep if they had a specific quality of nap,” said Sara Manic, a co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

As I’ve stated before, the company that I work for has a culture that I have never experienced before. Not only do we have encouragement from senior leaders to take “personal health” days, but we have the encouragement to step away from the office during our hour-long lunch break. The newest addition to our office space are chaise lounges in the various departments. We can lie on them, chill out, watch tv, and rest.

Take it from me, lunch breaks and coffee breaks are the best times to find somewhere at your job to take a quick, 30-minute nap. If you do not feel comfortable sleeping inside of the building you work, go to your car, cut the air on low, and snooze away. Watch your productivity boost. Don’t get too comfortable, though. You may sleep through the rest of your day. 😉 If these reasons explained above are enough reasons why you should nap at work, then try it out! You’ll thank me later.